Philosophy & The Power of Speech

By Michael Ryan

Is speech the essence of man?

Using examples of some of the world's most famous speeches, this talk considers the amazing power of speech and the source of its power to influence how we think feel and act including the insidious silent speech in the head. Whether appealing to our heads our hearts or our guts speech has the power to bind us and that can be for good or ill. When it comes to how we think, feel, or act, we need to be awake to the power of speech and whether it is for good or ill. A practical guide is whether it unites or divides, whether it is appealing to universal principle or selfish populist ends. In a word whether it is coming from Knowledge or Ignorance.